Knitting has made a comeback, but this time it isn't just occupying grannies and housewives.

A new generation of knitters is growing in the high school set and has even lured some teenage boys.

A knitting club at La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, for example, has almost 70 members, one-third of them boys.

The day campus groups recruited new members, sophomore Clayton Wheeler found a new hobby.

"I thought, 'Knitting. Sounds awesome,' and I went to the table and signed up," he said. "Most of my friends are in it. And my other friends are like, 'Knitting. Sweet.' "

According to a study by the Yarn Council of America, the number of knitters increased by 4 million from 1994 to 2002, to 38 million, most of them young people. The number of knitters age 45 and younger has more than doubled from 8 million in 1994 to 17.3 million in 2002. That includes people who crochet.

"Teenagers recognize the sameness of the clothes they see in stores," said Mary Colucci, executive director of the industry's trade association. "This way they can do their own thing, even if it's just picking their own color, or they can make something outrageous. It's a wonderful way to express themselves."

Junior Skylar Polansky, co-president of the Carlsbad group, said some teachers will let students bring knitting needles to class, because the tactile motion helps them listen to lectures.

"Instead of talking to people or looking around the room, I'm concentrating on what I'm doing and also paying attention to what the teacher is saying," she said.

Club member Adam Kreger said he pulls out his needles if he finishes a test early.

"You can't talk or anything, so I just start knitting," he said. "Sometimes, I'll knit when we're supposed to be doing our homework."

Colucci said thousands of boys across the nation are comfortable wielding knitting needles today.

"There's not the same stigma attached that there was years ago," she said. "It used to be if he picked up a needle, he would have been thought to be less of a man. Not anymore. There just seems to be more of an acceptance of enjoying these crafts. Why should it just be for women?"

In the weekly lunchtime club meetings at La Costa Canyon High, Skylar and the others teach novice knitters and compare stitches.

Students blend pop culture into their work. Boys often prefer to shape their yarn into faddish beanies or make sweat bands for their wrists. Girls like stylish scarves.

"It's soothing," Clayton said. "It seems like back in the olden days they just knitted dresses, but that has changed."

Soon others on campus wanted to be in the loop.

Sophomore Brooke Giuffre said her boyfriend got her hooked on the meditative craft.

"We went on vacation to Mammoth, and like, all the college students there had knit their own beanies and scarves. He got into it, and he's a better knitter than I am."

The Carlsbad students are using their nimble fingers for charity, knitting quilts for St. Clare's Home, a shelter for abused and homeless women in Escondido.

Knitting clubs and classes have popped up on other local campuses and at colleges nationwide.

San Dieguito High School Academy in Encinitas began a knitting club that has garnered interest of the school's staff members, who sometimes knit with teenagers.

At the request of students, Judith Schille, a history teacher and lifelong knitter at Hilltop High School in Chula Vista, started a design class that focuses on the craft as part of the school's visual and performing arts program.

"I talk about knitting in my history classes, because during all the wars there were always women knitting for the troops," Schille said. "And when the kids discovered they could make their own scarves they got very excited. Scarves seem to be popular in all the fashion magazines."

Hot in Hollywood

Hollywood endorsement may have also contributed to youth acceptance of the craft, because celebrities are wearing knitted couture.

Helping to shed stereotypes of the image of knitters with silver hair and orthopedic shoes are celebrities who knit and crochet on and off movie sets – stars like Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Russell Crowe.

The trend has also attracted young people in cities nationwide. They knit in bars and coffee houses, following the creation of a Manhattan knitting circle called "Stitch 'N Bitch."

For students, the art form is also a nostalgic link.

"Vintage clothing is really big now, so I think it's cool to do traditional stuff again," said Brooke, the La Costa Canyon sophomore.

For those who can multitask, one can clutch needles while studying, watching television or hanging out with friends.

Many students enjoy modeling their homemade apparel on campus, advertising their handiwork to peers.

When he dons his homemade knitted beanies, senior Chris Wessel said his friends at Hilltop High don't razz him about his interest in the domestic craft, which he took up so he could learn to knit a sweater.